By Chris Ray Skiff staff With the Western Athletic Conference Championships two weeks away, head coach Roland Ingram said he likes his team's chances. The TCU women's tennis team is rolling into this weekend's matches having won nine of its last 10 matches. Following a schedule change, the Frogs will take on WAC rival Rice at 2 p.m. today and California-Santa Barbara at 10 a.m. Sunday. The Rice Owls come into the match with a 7-8 record, despite beating Southern Methodist 6-3 on Sunday. Rice sports a 1-2 WAC record and is not ranked nationally. The Owls have a young squad, with two seniors on the roster. The Owls' standout player, Judith Hagedorn, has a 13-7 record. Hagedorn is 8-7 in dual-match play and competes out of the No. 1 singles spot. Ingram said the matchup between Hagedorn and TCU senior Lucie Dvorakova will be key. The Frogs, currently ranked No. 25 in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association polls, will host the rest of the WAC field in the WAC Championships April 27 to 30. Ingram, in his 17th year at the helm for the Frogs, said he feels they control their own destiny. "We have come to count on a few points throughout the year: Dorrit Huppes in singles, Dvorakova in singles and (Dvorakova) and senior Daria Zoldakova in doubles," Ingram said. Huppes has been the extra help the Frogs have needed to propel them into the top 25 in the nation, he added. In doubles, the "Euro Duo" of Dvorakova and Zoldakova is ranked No. 2 in the nation by the ITA and has two losses on the year. The duo broke the 20-win plateau already this season and is looking to end its collegiate careers near the top of its class. "We are looking forward to the WAC (Championships)," Zoldakova said. "It is something we have worked for, and I like our chances of winning."
Chris Ray
By Chris Ray Skiff staff Going into this weekend's matchup, the TCU men's tennis team holds a 14-3 overall record and a 1-0 record in Western Athletic Conference play. The Frogs take on California-Irvine and Baylor this weekend, seeing action with California-Irvine on Saturday and the Baylor Bears Sunday at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center. Junior Esteban Carril said playing against Baylor is like a no-holds-barred matchup. "When we played them earlier in the year, their crowd was really unruly," Carril said. "We would love a chance at revenge. We would love for them to recreate that environment out there Sunday." In the previous meeting between the two teams in Waco, the Bears emerged victorious 5-2, and Carril said Baylor's crowd played a role in the team's win. TCU head coach Michael Center said his team has not yet shown its potential. "We are peaking every day, and we will be there in the end," he said. "We are coming together at the right time, tournament time. This team will be a hard team to beat." TCU is led by All-American and No. 8-ranked Carril at the No. 1 singles spot. Carril is currently 22-4 on the season and 12-2 at the No. 1 spot. Of Carril's 22 wins, 16 of them have come in straight-set style. Another standout for the Frogs has been the No. 2 doubles spot with the duo of junior Scott Eddins and redshirt freshman Jimmy Haney. Eddins and Haney are currently ranked No. 36 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association polls, with a record of 16-7 and a perfect 4-0 at the No. 2 singles spot. In singles, the Frogs boast three nationally ranked players in freshman Antonio Gordon, ranked No. 99, junior Petr Koula, ranked No. 74, and Carril, ranked No. 8. "We don't just have one player," Carril said. "Everyone contributes for us. I was out for the match with Arkansas-Little Rock and (junior) Trace (Fielding) stepped up to take my place. Everyone went out and got the win. It was a team effort." TCU is ranked No. 15 by the ITA and has four matches remaining before hosting the WAC Championships on April 27 through 30.
Chris Ray
By Danny Horne staff reporter In the past, baseball games at TCU were characterized by the number of home runs hit or the number of runs scored, but with the new NCAA bat regulations, the game changed for the Frogs.As of Jan. 1, the NCAA altered the regulations of the aluminum bats used in college to make the game safer and less like the 1998 championship game in which Southern California set College World Series records for hits, 23, and runs scored, 21. James A. Sherwood, professor of engineering at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, is the director of NCAA's bat certification program which tests all collegiate bats before they go on the market. He said in the Nov. 22 issue of The NCAA News that the new bats are made to more closely mirror wooden bats by adjusting the exit velocity to no more than 97 miles per hour, which is very close to the performance of a wooden bat. Exit velocity is the speed at which the ball comes off the bat when swung. By slowing down the exit velocity, NCAA officials said the game can be safer because it cuts down on the potential for injury. TCU head baseball coach Lance Brown said the change has affected the Horned Frogs this season. "With the new bats they are coming out with, we won't be able to score runs like we are used to," Brown said. "Historically, home runs have been a very important part of our offense, but we know we need to change our philosophy now." The change in the bats is evident in the Horned Frogs' drop off in runs scored from last season to this season. At this point last season, the Horned Frogs had scored 320 runs. Going into this weekend's series with Hawaii-Hilo, TCU had scored 274 runs. "There is no doubt that we must change our thinking away from the home run," Brown said. "It forces us to think more toward manufacturing runs. It's really not all bad because it makes us and everyone across the country have to play real baseball instead of waiting for the bombs." Brown pointed out that the Frogs are not the only team having to adjust to the bats. "If you look at the numbers, teams like Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Oklahoma are also having to make big adjustments," Brown said. Statistics show that Texas A&M (52-18 a year ago) has not had the same potent offense as last season. The Aggies hit .322 as a team last year and had six players with double figures in home runs. This season, the Aggies (21-21) have just eight players with at least one home run and are hitting .286. "(The University of) Texas seemed to have it all figured out long ago," Brown said. "They had the type of team that was designed for the new bats two years ago. They struggled a little with the old bats, but now look where they are." The Longhorns are 32-7 and currently No. 3 in the most recent Baseball America poll. Senior pitcher and designated hitter Mark Hamilton said the new bats really level everyone out. "I would love to see them go closer to wood," Hamilton said. "I think it's just better for the game. It makes everyone have to actually play the game. I mean, before, teams would just go out and score 20 runs and not have to worry about pitching or defense. "Now with the new bats, we will have to play defense and pitch if we want to win." Hamilton said, as a pitcher, it opens up more options that are not normally available with the aluminum bat. "It really lets the pitcher throw inside," Hamilton said. "Any inside pitch a batter would hit with an aluminum bat has a better chance at actually breaking the wooden bat. That's the difference." Despite the adjustment in bat regulations, the Horned Frogs' earned run average has risen this year to 5.90 from 5.81 last year. "The game of baseball is already so mental," Hamilton said. "I don't think players will get too caught up in the bat regulations because it's hard enough without having to worry about the NCAA making changes. "No matter what they do, though, it's still an aluminum bat. As long as it stays aluminum, there will always be some big offensive numbers."
Danny Horne
By Chris Harrison staff reporter The TCU women's golf team concluded its regular season shooting a team total of 908 to place ninth last weekend in Ping/ASU Invitational in Tempe, Ariz. The Arizona Wildcats, ranked No. 2 by Golfweek, won the tournament with an eight-over, 872. Tournament host Arizona State, ranked No. 4 in Golfweek, finished second with a total of 875, followed by the No. 14 New Mexico Lobos, who finished third, shooting a total of 889. Head coach Angie Ravioli-Larkin said she was excited to see the team score so low and play with the top teams in the country. "It was our lowest score of the year in any tournament, which was really good," Ravioli-Larkin said. "I felt like our top four really played consistent golf. Our No. 1 and No. 2 players helped each other out and really 'ham and egged' it. "I felt like everybody hit the ball consistently and hit a lot of greens. It was just a matter of when the team didn't hit the greens, they were able to get the ball up and down." Arizona's Jenna Daniel led the tournament from the first day and took home the individual title. Daniel posted two sub-70 rounds, finishing the tournament at 207. Arizona State's Miriam Nagl finished in second place with a three-round total of 215. TCU's highest finisher was senior Angela Stanford. Stanford recovered from a four-over par second round to finish tied for eighth with a total of 220. Stanford said she was glad to see the team play solid golf in this last tournament. "I thought the team played really consistently this weekend, which was really great to see," Stanford said. "We never counted an 80, and all four scores we counted every day were in the mid and low 70s. Very, very good to see for the first time. "I think the tournament as a whole was a turning point for us. I think we came out of there thinking 'OK, we know we can do it now.' We finally put together three solid rounds finishing ninth out of the best 16 or 17 teams in the nation." Sophomore Lori Sutherland shot a final round of 78, dropping her from sixth to 28th place. Freshman Shannon Barr finished at 48th place with a total of 231. Sophomore Jennifer Patterson ended in 50th place at 232. Senior Brenda Anderson shot a total of 242 and took 81st place. Ravioli-Larkin said the team is as confident as it has been all season, and it is ready for the Western Athletic Conference Championships. "We know that the championship is going to come down to whoever is playing well that week," Ravioli-Larkin said. "We know that we can beat all of the teams there, and we are just going to have to be able to answer the challenge." The women's team competes next at the WAC Championships April 24 to 26 in Broken Arrow, Okla.
Chris Harrison |
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